[2] Built in 1917 as a Shriner's Temple at a cost of $150,000,[3] the building was designed in Exotic Revival style, looking much like an Islamic temple, by architect T. Patterson Ross.

Upon opening, the June 1917 edition of Architect and Engineer described the building as "an adaptation from Alhambra, a building that stands as the highest mark of Arabian art and civilization."

[4] After the Alcazar Theatre at 260 O'Farrell Street closed on December 31, 1961, and then demolished, this former temple on Geary Street became a legitimate theatre in 1976 and took on the name Alcazar.

[6] Standing just west of Union Square, in the city's theatre district, the Alcazar has been renovated.

[7] The Alcazar Theatre was listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark in 1989.